Pause
by Lougara
Summary: A very short story during a cool October day, with Sonic and Shadow at the bus stop. Complete.


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When he had exit the bakery shop, Sonic hadn't expected to find his rival standing at the bus stop station far to his right.

Because for one thing he knew for a fact, neither of them needed to use any sort of transportation because they could both outstrip any vehicle if they so chose.

Still, there he was. Shadow the hedgehog standing at the Bus stop's curb, not bothering with the bench. Given the way Shadow dressed in a heavy brown winter coat, a long and black beaded scarf, and thick slacks where the cuff of the pants were folded above his anklets, the blue hedgehog figured the other must have been really cold. Although he also noted the hedgehog was missing earmuffs for a complete winter set. He watched from where he stood at the distance of one building away, positioned behind the other, as Shadow pulled a tissue from his coat pocket and sneezed into it, wiped his nose and then huffed. A moment later he rolled up his sleeve to look at his wrist watch, huffed, wiped his nose again and then sniffled, before shoving his hands with the used tissue back into the pockets.

Deciding to greet the unaware agent, Sonic adjusted the weight of the paper bag in his hands, "Bless you," were the first words he spoke while he approached the surprised dark hedgehog. The hero of Station Square then flashed him a huge, cheerful grin, "I didn't know you could catch a cold, Shadow. Guess the Ultimate Lifeform gets sick too, huh?" he jibbed.

"I have a bad case of flu, so unless you want to end up bedridden for a month, faker, I suggest you keep your distance." The other growled, but it sounded more like a croak, which was far more funny to Sonic's ears due to how thick the voice was, and how clogged his nose had gotten due to the mucus blocking it. "Besides, just because I neutralize ailments doesn't mean I am immune to catching them." He shrugged, and then muttered, "I need to catch the bug in order to neutralize it, after all."

"And given how you're dressed, I'm surprised you hadn't caught anything yourself." He gestured at Sonic's lack of proper winter clothes.

Sonic, who wore his usual gloves and shoes had no extra clothing on other than a long green scarf. It had been a gift from Amy a few years back, and he always wore it in cold weather just for her. She had offered to make him a new one, but he continued to say that he liked the old one just fine. As worn and used as it was, he liked the way the wool wrapped soft and warm around his neck, and the light weight it placed over his shoulders. Sonic was dressed rather light compared to the heavy load Shadow was decked in, and the blue hedgehog guessed the agent must have caught one heck of a bug if it had him snuggled into such heavy clothes. Blue eyes looked at the sky as orange and brown leaves fell from the surrounding trees and fluttered to the ground. They were around mid October now and the chill of winter was starting to really kick in at night. It was still day time, but even noon has a slight chill to it if one is not dressed properly.

"I've been through worse weather; it takes a lot to get me sick." Sonic boasted and hugged the paper bag closer.

The smell of freshly baked bread was making his mouth water, and he knew he needed to head back home to get the buns delivered before they got cold, but in the same time he felt compelled to keep the ill and cranky agent company until the bus arrived. That's when Shadow sneezed again and made a pained, raspy coughing noise, before he used the tissue to cover his mouth. Sonic thought that Shadow's nose must really be aching if sneezing hurt. Not a moment after that had passed, Shadow breathed through the mouth for a moment and the agent hacked up a large gunk of mucus, and then hurried off to spit it into a nearby trash bin.

Sonic soon lost his appetite for the bread buns and tried not to look grossed, but that was really disgusting.

Relived with the clog removed from his throat and nose, Shadow heaved a breath and a small fogged cloud of breath took form in front of his ill-flushed, tan muzzle.

"If you're this sick then shouldn't you be in bed? That cold looks awful nasty." Sonic commented, keeping a good three foot distance between him and the ill hedgehog.

Tired ruby eyes glanced at the hedgehog with annoyance, ignored him and remained standing vigilantly at the bus stop. Shadow's ears were partly flopped down, a clear sign that the agent was quite tired, but in an act of defiance continued to stand his ground regardless.

Sonic studied him for a moment, balanced the paper bag in his hands and brought up his hand to roll up his glove sleeve, he looked at his watch. It was a few minutes till Two o'clock, and it was the afternoon. If he remembered it right, the bus should be here any minute, right? He looked at the ill hedgehog again with a hint of concern. "What are you waiting for, Shadow?"

"That's none of your concern, now is it." Shadow replied, exhaustion and irritation clear in his tone. The cranky agent glanced at the blue hedgehog with clear distaste, "Unless you want to catch this bug, faker, I think you should do yourself a favor and go away. I'm really not in the mood for you." He mumbled.

"When were you ever." Sonic teased.

That's when fortune smiled and the bus's engine could be heard revving up and approaching fast. Shadow watched the bus draw closer and stop at the curb, so he stepped aside to allow the people aboard to get down without him in the way. Sonic stood the opposite direction and watched. Much to his surprised, Mrs. Vanilla Rabbit had come off the bus as well! The first thing Sonic noticed was her tired expression and a lock of hair out of place, but didn't think much of it. It had been a rather breezy day. She wore her usual dress in addition to a long coral pink scarf with matching earmuffs.

"Hello, dear. Sorry for keeping you waiting." She greeted and waited for a moment for the people to stop pouring out, then turned around to smile at the blue hedgehog, "And mister Sonic is here as well? It's nice to see you well and healthy." She smiled.

"Hey, it's great to see you're as vibrant as ever, Mrs. Rabbit." Sonic began, and then watched as the bus drove away. Sonic blinked, "Uh, is Cream with you?" he asked, a little confused that the sweet little daughter and her pet Chao were not present.

Shadow scowled at that question while Mrs. Rabbit decided to explain.

"Actually, I'm here to pick her up. Mr Shadow here had been a dear to babysit her the past week while I was on leave." She glanced at the ill hedgehog with motherly concern, then turned back to Sonic, "You see I caught a terrible flu last week that left me quite bedridden, and my darling Cream was so worries, but I didn't want her or Cheese to catch it. Ms. Rouge somehow found out and was gracious enough to offer taking care of her for me since Mr. Vector was busy." She paused for a moment to adjust her own scarf, before being motherly and adjusting Shadow's somewhat loose scarf as well, much to the agents flustered embarrassment, "Unfortunately, it seems Cream had already caught the bug, and passed it to Mr. Shadow as well. My apologies." She concluded with a sheepish smile at the hedgehog in mention.

Shadow cleared his throat and adjusted his scarf as well, then said nothing more.

Sonic blinked at the exchange. A huge and very amused toothy grin stretched across his face. Since when did Shadow do babysitting duties? The thought alone was pretty funny…

The agent grumbled something under his breath and heaved another sigh, "I'll be taking Mrs. Rabbit to Rouge's apartment, so why don't you go and get your deliveries done, faker? I'm pretty sure you're not buying bread this early in the afternoon for yourself." Shadow pointed out as he turned around to lead the mother rabbit away.

Mrs. Rabbit smiled at Sonic and with a slight bow wished him a good day before she hurried after the cranky agent. Sonic overheard her mumble something about Shadow needing a nice, hot drink and something about a medicine her grandmother taught her that will help him get better, but Shadow's ears flopped down even more as he walked, so Sonic guessed whatever the mother rabbit had said must have not sounded too appealing.

Still, Sonic chuckled and turned around to the opposite direction. Amy's home was a fair distance off and the bread was already getting cold. The faster he got the delivery done the better, cause he knew how much Amy disliked cold, stale bread.

With Cream and her mother in town though, at Rouge's apartment no less, Sonic guessed now would be a good chance to drop in for a visit just to annoy Shadow. With a mischievous smile, the blue hero bolted off, a hue of blue blurred with a green streak zipped across the grayed streets with ease. Orange, yellow and red tree leaves swirled and scattered as the red sneakers dashed across the paved paths and junctions of Station Square.

Sonic was not in a hurry, still he had things to do and places to go after all.

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End file.
